Katara
by xXBeautiful TragedyXx
Summary: Katara is a woman, worthless in the eyes of the world. When she goes to war to save her father though, everything will change. My Avatar version of Mulan. RxR
1. Reflections

Before you get started there are a few things you should know. First, Iroh is Zuko's father, not Ozai. Aang and Toph are Iroh's parents. Katara and Sokka aren't siblings, and Kya isn't dead. There is no 'Fire Nation Conquer the World' type of war going on, but Huns are invading the Fire Nation, calling Aang the Fire Lord to action. I think that's it, so enjoy 'Katara,' the Avatar version of 'Mulan.' And I disclaim.

Katara

Katara slowly opened her eyes to the bright Fire Nation sun. She stretched her sleepy muscles and stifled a yawn. "What a beautiful day," she sighed. "Too bad I have to waste it at the matchmaker's." Realization hit Katara like a ton of bricks. "The matchmaker!" she cried. "I'm late!"

Quickly she sprang from her bed and put on some fresh clothes. "La curse me! I've still got to feed the stupid chicken-hogs." She ran out of her family's home to the grain shed and grabbed a bag, ripping it open. Katara ran throwing handfuls of the feed as she headed to the shrine. 'Hurry up! Hurry up!' she thought to herself as the chicken-hogs picked up what she threw to them. "Dear La, I can't be late!"

The grunts and squawks of the chicken-hogs interrupted Hakoda's prayers. "Morning, dad!" Katara smiled.

He frowned slightly. She was still here? Wasn't she supposed to be at the matchmaker's? 'Oh, La,' he thought. "Katara dear, what are you still doing here? You're supposed to be in town preparing to meet the matchmaker."

She giggled nervously. "Well," she began, "I am, but I-I kind of overslept. Funny right?"

"Not in the slightest Katara. Now, off you go," he said, standing with the help of his cane. With an endearing look to his only daughter, he wished her luck. Smiling in thanks, she ran out of the shrine, off to meet her female family members to get ready. Hakoda sighed. "I'm going to… pray some more."

OoOoOoOoOo

"Where is that girl?" Katara's mother, Kya asked.

"Knowing my niece, she overslept," retorted Yue. The doors opened with a loud bang as Katara burst through them.

"Young lady, you are late!" her angry mother cried, grabbing her by the wrist and dragging toward her waiting bath. "You know how important today is. How could you be late?"

"I overslept," Katara answered sleepily.

Yue looked to her sister with a smirk. "Told you."

"Not helping," Kya said bluntly.

Her sister shrugged and took Katara's wrist. Ushering her behind a privacy curtain, her aunt quickly stripped her of her clothes and pushed her into the tub. "Ahh! This water's freezing!"

Kya smiled slyly. "Had you been here on time, it would've been warm."

"Yeah, and if you marry a nice Firebender he could warm that up for you," Yue added with a wink.

Blushing, Katara slid further into the water. "Aunt Yue, stop it!" The older woman smiled at her beautiful niece, praying to La that Katara would bring the family honor by striking a good match from Aunt Wu, the matchmaker. She bent some of the water from the bath onto Katara's hair, next applying fragrant shampoos.

"You know," Katara said, "I could have done that myself."

Her mother answered, "Yes, but it's tradition that only the women of your family get you ready, not you. And that includes bathing yourself. It's our honor and duty." Katara sighed as her mother and aunt finished washing her.

Next, she was sent to her older cousin, Ming, to be dressed. "What to pick, what to pick," she muttered, analyzing Katara and her features. Suddenly, Ming's eyes lit up. "I know just what you should wear!" She sprang to the large wardrobe and pulled heaps of blue silk of various shades from the racks and shelves. "This will look great on you!"

"Okay…" Katara said doubtfully.

"I knew you'd love it!" Her exuberant cousin cried joyfully, setting to work wrapping, swathing, and tying various blue silks around Katara's petite frame. When she was done, she stepped back to see her younger cousin in the dress. "Oh, Katara, you're so beautiful! And that dress reminds me so much of the Water Tribes," she sighed nostalgically.

"Thanks, Ming. That really means a lot to me," Katara said, pulling her cousin into a tight hug. "One day Gran-Gran will be well enough to visit home again, I promise."

"I pray that it's soon," she said, letting go of Katara. Cheering up, she added, "And hopefully my husband can stand the cold. He'd be shivering in his parka!" The two cousins shared a good laugh, picturing Jen Shu, Ming's husband and an accomplished military man, in the artic climate of the South Pole. "Now dear cousin, we need to get you to Aunt Song. She'll match your make-up perfectly with that dress of yours!"

After make-up was painstakingly applied to her face and hair pulled into a beautiful top-knot, she looked like a porcelain doll. With her top-knot, blue dress, and flawless make-up she prepared herself to fall in line with the other girls.

"Wait one moment, dear." Katara turned to her Gran-Gran. "I've got something for you," she said, presenting a blue pendant bearing the Water Tribe symbol. "By wearing this pendant showing your loyalty to her lands, La will give you her favor and help you to bring our family honor and glory." Gran-Gran smiled proudly, a few tears leaking from her wise blue eyes. Kissing her granddaughter's cheek, she wished Katara luck one last time.

"Thank you, Gran-Gran. I won't let you down." With that, she quickly walked out the door, ready to meet Aunt Wu.

Kya, Yue, Gran-Gran, Ming and Song watched Katara leave, pride shining in their equally blue eyes. "She's on her way," Kya whispered.

"She'll make a great bride," Song said wistfully.

Gran-Gran smiled. "Her children will be as beautiful and proud as she is."

"Hopefully they'll be as masterful at bending as she." Ming beamed happily, thinking of Katara's future children running around freezing each other to walls as they had done as kids.

"Well," Yue added, "I just hope her husband is drop-dead _gorgeous_!"

"Yue!" The women laughed at her silliness, hopeful for Katara's future and ability to honor the family.

OoOoOoOoOo

The women of Katara's family stood anxiously outside the matchmaker's place. 'Please, dear La don't let her mess up! Dear La, _please _don't let her mess up!" Kya thought worriedly. 'Please don't let-'

"AAAAHHHHH!" a loud scream was her from inside.

"Oh, that can't be good…" Yue muttered.

Suddenly Aunt Wu burst out the doors, make-up running down her face, and…bum afire? "Oh, no!" Ming whimpered.

Katara rushed out soon after the matchmaker looking alarmed and flustered. 'Water! I need water!' her head screamed. She looked about frantically until her eyes fell upon a drinking trough for horses. Bending all of the water from it, she brought it down upon the screaming Aunt Wu, putting out the fire enveloping her lower half.

Sopping wet, the vicious matchmaker turned on Katara. "You are a disgrace! You may look like a bride, but you will _never _bring your family honor!" The townspeople gasped and began whispering amongst themselves about Katara and the matchmaker's verbal thrashing.

Katara ran past her family, trying to avoid as many people as she could. She was so angry with herself. 'How did that stupid cricket even get in the tea?' she asked herself. How could she face her family? How could she ever face her father? He'd put so much faith in her. She was the only one her father had to carry on the family honor, and she'd failed him. Failed him miserably, not to mention. As she approached her house, she saw her mother and father talking on the porch. She hid behind a wall, watching. Her heart broke when her father's expression went from joyful, to hopelessly disappointed. "Why can't I show any one who I really am without breaking their hearts?" she asked aloud.

She walked in shame to the shrine in La on her family's property. Entering with a hanging head, she sat in front of a statue of the beautiful goddess. La had long, straight, flowing hair and large eyes full of wisdom. Her full lips were curved in a soft smile full of love. Her curves were accentuated perfectly by her fitted parka.

"I bet you've never had a problem with being accepted," she said to the statue. "You're perfect. That's why every Water Tribe woman tries to model herself after you. I've tried, La, I really have, but I just can't do it. I've failed."

In the reflective stone behind La's statue, Katara stared at her reflection and began to sing to herself.

_Look at me._

_I will never pass for a perfect bride_

_Or a perfect daughter._

_Can it be_

_I'm not meant to play this part?_

_Now I see _

_That if I were truly to be myself_

_I would break my family's heart._

_Who is that girl I see_

_Staring straight back at me?_

_Why I my reflection someone_

_I don't know?_

_Somehow I cannot hide_

_Who I am, though I've tried._

_When will my reflection show_

_Who I am inside?_

_When will my reflection show_

_Who I am inside?_

She wiped away the make-up on her face. Then, Katara cried the tears she'd been holding back for so long in front of the statue of her goddess, La.

Well, there's chapter one. I hope you enjoyed it because it took me forever to write. Be nice to me, please. Thank you!

-Chelsea


	2. Choices

Thanks to Minute Mist for my first review on this story. Here's the second chapter. Enjoy!

Hakoda sighed. Kya had returned from town a few minutes ago, bearing the news of Katara's dishonor. He knew Katara was upset; she'd worked so hard, only to be publicly disgraced. Bracing himself with his cane, he limped down the steps toward the shrine to look for his daughter.

Quiet sobs met his ears as he neared La's shrine. Quietly, he stepped into the sacred place and kneeled beside his weeping daughter, wrapping her in his arms in the same way as when she was a small child. "Daddy, I'm so sorry," she whimpered. "I tried, I really did, but I failed anyway. I've ruined any chances I had for honoring our family!"

"Shh, child. What is done is done. We cannot change what has happened today, but we can't let it keep our family down."

"But Daddy, Aunt Wu said that I would never be able to honor our family," said a very melancholy Katara.

Hakoda cupped her chin in his rough hands and looked deeply into the eyes of his child. "Katara I want you to listen very closely to what I am about to say. Okay?" She nodded her head. "Is it the matchmaker's job to bring honor to our family?"

"No, sir."

Hakoda continued. "Whose job is it?"

"Mine," Katara answered.

"Exactly. _You _bring us honor, not the matchmaker. I know you Katara; honoring your family is your top priority, and you will not _allow_ yourself to dishonor us. The matchmaker can say what she likes about you, but she will never know your drive to bring us honor and glory." Katara smiled brightly at her father. "Katara, only your actions can bring us those things; the matchmaker's opinion is only what everyone expects from you. You, though, will put them all to shame."

"Thank you," she said to her father.

Hakoda smiled and pulled away from Katara. "Come, love. You're mother is cooking dinner, and it should be ready soon." Father and daughter walked side by side, laughing and joking, the events of the day put behind them.

OoOoOoOoOo

A Fire Nation guard paced up and down the newly erected Northern Wall. It was built along the entire Fire Nation northern border, east to west. Fire Lord Aang had ordered it's creation a few months ago, commissioning hundreds of Earthbenders for the job. It turns out they'd come in handy; with them, the construction of the Northern Wall had only taken months, rather than the many years it would have taken otherwise. Politically, it had been a help too. An alliance had been formed with the Earth Kingdom. For their service to the Fire Nation, the Fire Lord had promised to help defend the Earth Kingdom in times of war, and the Earth Kingdom had promised the same.

A loud clanging sound had reached the guard's ears. 'That almost sounded like metal grinding against stone,' he thought. Dread filled his entire being. 'It can't be…'

He ran toward the source of the noise, praying fiercely to Agni that it wasn't what he thought it was. His heart dropped. Countless grappling hooks were flying up over the wall, pulled tight by those below. "The Huns…"

From behind him, a large arm grabbed his own, twisting it painfully until a sickening crack was heard. The guard cried out, holding his broken appendage. When he looked up, an angry pair of golden eyes stared coldly down at him. "Ozai…" he whimpered in terror.

"Yes," the pale, raven-haired man said darkly. "Unfortunately, I'll never have the pleasure of knowing _your _name." A sick smile plastered his face as sparks of blue lighting jumped around his hand. The guard's eyes widened in terror as he realized what Ozai was planning to do. He didn't even have tome to scream. The deed was done.

"Pathetic," Ozai spat. His army began clamoring over the wall; they quickly obliterating the rest of the Fire Lord's appointed guards for the Wall. He set fire to the Fire Nation flags stretching from one end of the enormous barrier to the other.

One of his followers approached him and said, "Now all of the Fire Nation know were here."

The leader of the Huns threw back his head and laughed. "Good."

OoOoOoOoOo

A dull pounding reached Katara's ears as she lay sleeping. Groaning, she turned over, trying to get back to sleep. Her eyes flew open as she realized what the pounding was. "There's been an attack on the Fire Nation!" she yelled, throwing the blankets off her body and jumping out of bed.

She sprinted down the hall to her parents' bedroom and yanked the door open. "Mom! Dad! Get up! The Fire Nation's been attacked!"

Hakoda and Kya gasped as the beating drums registered in their minds. "We must gather with the other villagers. Someone from the Imperial City should be arriving soon," he said, worry dripping from his every word.

"Yes, Father," Katara said, bowing slightly before walking back to her room. Quickly the young Waterbender dressed and combed her hair, weaving it into its traditional Water Tribe braid. She said a prayer to La asking for her protection and walked out into the bright sun that shone down beautifully upon the Eau family's gardens. Even here, in this wonderful beauty, Katara couldn't escape the heavy pounding of the drums. The sound was horrible, crushing the peace in her mind. These drums signaled something awful and unthinkable. A war was in their midst.

Would her father be forced to fight yet again? He had already served his country, returning with a mangled leg and terrifying nightmares that haunted his sleep long after he'd returned. Katara shuddered with the memory. Even though she was only a young child, she still recalled being torn from her blissful dreams by the horrible cries of her father. Surely the Fire Lord would understand. Certainly he wouldn't make Hakoda serve in another war.

No matter how many times she told herself, Katara still was uncertain.

The entire village was present as the white imperial stallions thundered in from the west. The armed guards pulled the snorting beasts to a halt around the Fire Lord's highest advisor, Master Pakku.

Katara had heard a great deal about this man. He was a Water Tribe native-the blue eyes and skin color had given that away. He had helped the Fire Lord make countless important decisions in his time of service, fought many battles to save his country. Many battles had been won through his genius strategic planning. He was the best of the best and the one the Fire Lord wanted as his head advisor.

She had no idea why. The man was old and frail-looking, hair white as the snow of his homeland. His mouth was curled in what seemed to be a permanent sneer. Pakku looked mean, but fierce enough to lead entire armies? Katara didn't think so.

After looking at the faces of the townsfolk disdainfully, Master Pakku began his speech. "I am here on an important mission from Fire Lord Aang and his lady, Fire Lady Toph. Last night, the Northern Wall was breached and all of its guards killed." Katara could feel the mounting tension among the people surrounding her. "The Fire Nation has been attacked by the Huns."

Everyone around Katara gasped in shocked horror. Mothers pulled their young children close, protecting them from a danger none could see, but all could feel. Old couples grasped hands, the knobby and twisted fingers twining around all they had left. Some of the girls cried softly into the shoulders of their fathers; the older girls sobbed into the chests of their husbands. The men stood tall and firm, but fear still shone in many of their eyes. Katara stood watching and waiting, hoping the Fire Lord wouldn't ask for the one thing she couldn't hear.

Her hope shattered when Pakku spoke again.

"One man from every family will serve in the Imperial Army." The last names he rattled off were irrelevant to her in her shocked pain. Fire Lord Aang couldn't need her father again; he had _already_ served! "The Eau family."

Katara sprang from the crowd, pushing in front of her father. "Please, sir, my father has already served the Fire Lord! He-"

Pakku paid her no heed. Instead, he looked to Hakoda and snarled, "You should teach your daughter to hold her tongue in a man's presence!" The old man shoved the scroll into Hakoda's hand and whipped his horse forward, Imperial guards following closely behind.

Katara's heart was sliced open when her father turned to her. "You dishonor me," he said, limping away, refusing his cane from Kya.

OoOoOoOoOo

Dinner was a quiet and strained affair that night, awkward silence filling the spaces where warm conversation and witty banter should have been. Gran-Gran looked back and forth from Katara, to Hakoda, to Kya, hardly touching her food. Her son sipped at his tea, lost in thought. Kya kept her eyes to the table, unusually gloomy.

The old woman was yanked harshly from her observations when her granddaughter, previously staring at her tea, slammed the porcelain cup in her hands down hard on the table. "You shouldn't have to fight!" she yelled, pushing herself from the floor.

"It is my duty and honor to fight for my country," Hakoda sighed, still drinking his tea.

Katara wouldn't be swayed by her father's words, not this time. She was too angry. "But, you already served in a war! Why not let the younger men go and-"

Hakoda was standing now, anger rolling off him in waves. "I know my place!" he cried. "It's time you learned yours!" His expression softened as Katara's face crumpled and a few tears seeped from her deep blue eyes. She threw herself at the door, slamming it behind her. Her father sighed and eased himself back down to the floor mats. Hakoda was suddenly uninterested in his tea.

OoOoOoOoOo

Katara surrendered herself to the heavy rain falling around her, not bothering to bend it away as she sat curled up in the arms of a statue of La in one of her family's gardens. She wiped the remaining tears from her face and looked down. Her dark reflection stared back at her from a puddle of water gathered at La's feet. A light from the house caught her eyes and she saw her parnets' shadows dancing through the thin curtains. They were evidently having a disagreement; Kya walked away from Hakoda's embrace. Her father then blew out the candle illuminating the room and the now lonely shadow disappeared.

The young woman's brow knitted together in fierce determination. "I won't _let_ him fight," she said, dragging herself from La's lap. "I won't let him…"

She made her way to the shrine, each step full of purpose. Her eyes burned with a fire that rivaled a Fire Bender's blaze. Katara lit inscents and placed them in a hanging sculpture of a dragon, symbolizing her family's loyalty to the Fire Nation., and bowed her head to La in a quick and silent prayer.

She ran to her house and quietly slipped inside, knowing her parents were asleep by then. Katara stole into her their room and swiftly switched her father's enlistment scroll for the pendant her grandma had given her the day she'd met the matchmaker. Before she slipped out of the room, Katara smiled lovingly at her sleeping parents' forms.

Her next stop was Hakoda's armor room. She gripped the sheath of her father's sword and pulled the deadly weapon from its cover. Methodically, with each slice of the sword, locks of hair fell to the floor. Once waist-length mahogany waves now hung to Katara's shoulders. 'At least my head feels lighter,' she thought with a small grin as pulled what was left of her beautiful hair into a top-knot. She then pulled open the doors to the closet that held her father's armor.

Katara, clad in the blue armor, opened the door to the stables. Startled, the horse reared and whinnied. Quickly, she calmed the stallion and had him saddled, galloping through the gates of her home, never looking back.

OoOoOoOoOo

Gran-Gran shot up in bed, dread filling her old bones. She got out of bed as fast as she could and ran to Kya and Hakoda's room. "Katara's gone!" she cried.

Hakoda looked at his bed side table, wanting to be sure. "No," he whispered, picking up the beautiful necklace that had replaced his enlistment scroll. He ran from the house, forgetting his cane, worrying only about Katara. The swinging gates mocked him as he ran towards them, rain soaking him. Without his cane, he didn't get far. His leg gave out and Hakoda fell to the wet ground and called for his daughter.

"You have to go after her!" Kya said in desperation. "She could be killed."

Hakoda wrapped his arms around her, cradling her to his chest. "If I reveal her," he whispered, "she will be."

Gran-Gran stood silently off to the side. "La," she begged, "please watch over Katara."

So there's the second chapter. It took forever to write. Lol. I hope you enjoyed it.

-Chelsea


	3. Update Information

Hello, reader! Wow, that was dumb… anyway, I'm here to let all of you know that I might not be able to update as often as I like now that school has started back. I'm working on this story as often as I can and it shouldn't be too much longer before I have another chapter posted. Please don't give up on me!

I'd also like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I really appreciate it. If you have any requests or ideas you might want me to include, just tell me in a review or a private message. I'll try my very best to incorporate it into the story. Thank you again.

-Chelsea


	4. Council

Please don't kill me for not updating! I am so sorry! But I would like to dedicate this chapter to zukoluver45 for being such an awesome reviewer! Thanks! With no further ado, I give you the 3rd chapter!

OoOoOoOoOo

_"La, please watch over her."_

The whispered prayer fell lightly upon the water goddess's ears. She watched from her palace above as a husband and wife held each other in the rain while an old woman watched with sad eyes. La looked down on another scene from her home. A woman in a man's water tribe armor galloped in to the night on a dark horse, mouth set in a hard line.

La floated down into the Eau family shrine and turned to look at the tiny dragon once frozen in stone standing upon a stone plate suspended from the shrine roof. "Alert the other gods," she demanded. "Tell them I request a council." With a quick nod, the dragon ran from the shrine and into the sky, growing larger with each flap of his wings.

Sighing, La pulled a mirror from the pocket of her robes and studied her reflection thoughtfully. Eternity had changed nothing. Her eyes still shone with the bright blue that she'd given to her people. Dark skin, unmarred by wrinkles, gleamed as brightly as it had since before the beginning of time. She would remain ever frozen in time, just as the ice that bowed to her will.

In a furry of heat and flames, Agni, the fire god, appeared behind La. "Hello La. I trust you've been well?" His amber eyes burned like liquid fire.

"I have, thank you. I extend my gratitude to you for coming to this council," she replied, placing her mirror back into its place.

Agni smiled. "It is my honor to be here. Kami and Tsumaku should be here shortly."

As if on cue, Kami, goddess of earth, and Tsumaki, god of air appeared much more subtly than Agni.

"You called?" Kami retorted. La smiled. Kami was not only a fellow deity, but a close friend to her. Although small in stature, Kami more than made up for it with witty jibes, a big heart and tough love like the Earthbenders she created.

"I did, Kami," La replies. "I wanted to discuss one of my mortal children –Katara." The water goddess chewed her lip, nervous about the reactions Katara would stir among the gods.

In his soothing voice, Tsumaku spoke. "What would you like t o discuss, dear La?"

"She –well she kind of ran away with her father's armor to join the Fire Nation army," La said quickly, almost stumbling over her words.

"WHAT?!" Agni's angry roar reverberated off the shrine's stone walls, bouncing back from every direction. "She's going to try to fight? That's a _man's _job!"

"_Excuse _me?" La cried. "A man's job? I'll have you know that the first water women I ever made were some of the fiercest -"

"I don't care! That was then and this is now, La._ Dogs_ are worth more than women!"

"What?" Kami's voice rose to the volume of the fire and water deities, enraged by Agni.

"We all know it's the truth, and in my opinion -"

"Enough, all of you!" the three quarreling gods turned to face Tsumaku. "We are gods and will act as such. We came at La's request for a council, and I suggest that we begin."

OoOoOoOoOo

Katara grunted as she lifted the heavy saddle from her horse's back. Letting it slide to the ground, she wiped the sweat from her brow, bending it from her hand to the ground below. She guessed she was roughly within a three mile radius of the Fire Nation army camp judging from the map she had. The long ride from her home on no sleep was beginning to take its toll. "Well," she muttered, "a little nap can't hurt." Pulling her bedroll from her saddle bag, she lay down and began to sleep.

OoOoOoOoOo

"But why do _I _have to go with her?" Agni whined. "She can go by herself; it's one of her women!"

Kami rolled her eyes. "Because she's also one of _your_ people. She joined the Fire Nation, so now she's your responsibility too."

"I didn't ask for her!" the amber eyed god exclaimed.

"As I recall, Agni, she never asked for the Fire Nation," La said. "Katara wanted to stay in the South Pole. The only reason she even agreed to the move was her grandmother's well being."

Tsumaku sighed. "The decision has been made and cannot be changed. Agni, you will go with La to watch over Katara. La isn't happy with the arrangements either, but at least she isn't whining like a child."

The fire god's eyes blazed with insult. "I am not a child!"

"Then quit acting like one and go find the cross dresser," Kami retorted.

With a sneer, Agni mumbled, "Fine."

Tsumaku smiled. "Good! I hope the Waterbender doesn't give you too much grief. Return soon!" As soon as his words died away, he disappeared in a rush of wind.

"Tata!" Kami said, following after Tsumaku, leaving the two complete opposite gods alone.

OoOoOoOoOo

I'm so sorry for the short chapter; I just really wanted get something up. The next one will be better, I swear!

-Chlesea


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